WHO assessment of Turkmenistan National Road Safety Programme
On 25–27 January 2016, at the request of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, WHO experts conducted an assessment of the Turkmenistan National Road Safety Programme 2015–2017 to clarify target indicators and exchange global experience. 2 experts from the Russian Federation, Dr Elena Yurasova from the WHO Country Office and Professor Vladimir Klyavin from the Lipetsk State Technical University, experienced in implementing the Road Safety in 10 Countries Project (RS10) 2010–2014 held discussions with national health, traffic police and transportation specialists.
They studied key legal documents to facilitate development of a set of indicators for the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry and the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Turkmenistan to monitor and evaluate the efficiency of the National Road Safety Programme. International experience and the Road Safety Project in the Russian Federation show the effectiveness of addressing key risk factors for road injuries – speed, seat belts, child restraints, drinking and driving, helmets – through improving road safety legislation with effective enforcement and social marketing campaigns. For those injured post-crash, onsite care is vital.
An important part of the assessment was the participation of WHO experts at a meeting of the Road Safety National Coordinating Committee represented by 28 state organizations and public associations. Participants discussed the assessment's recommendations on target indicators for:
- road traffic injury and death rates
- distribution of casualties by gender
- unified road traffic death registration period of 30 days for health and police statistics
- qualitative and quantitative indicators of social activities to correct on-road behaviour
- improvement of post-crash care.
National experts gained experience and practice in monitoring and collecting data in line with recommendations of the Global status report on road safety 2015.
